helnwein archive

It is the function of the artist to evoke the experience of surprised recognition:
to show the viewer what he knows but does not know that he knows.
Helnwein is a master of surprised recognition.

How can a friendly person like Helnwein stand making his - excellent - painting into a mirror of the terrors of this century? Or is it that he can't stand not doing it? Does his mirror just reflect the attitude of the century: Terror without end is better than an ending in terror...

The auratic face of a child, six metres high, four metres wide, hanging in the triumphal arch of a medieval church, surrounded by dozens of canvases in the standard size of 200 by 140 cm that are mounted on the church's pillars and walls show heads and fantasy creatures which only on closer inspection may be easily recognized as children's drawings - once more Helnwein upsets traditional structures of perception in a number of ways, including the expectations that visitors have of a Helnwein exhibition. This is signalled already by the title "KINDSKOPF", which in addition to being a reference to the theme depicted (the head of a child) refers to the ironically serious self-representation of the artist (in German "Kindskopf" is a somewhat condescending colloquialism for an adult acting in childish ways), similar to Helnwein's earlier catalogue title "Subhuman" ("Untermensch") of 1988.

At the same time that he painted pictures of injured and abused children, from 1969, around 1971/72 the bandaged child became the most important figure next to the artist himself and the martyr allied with him in his actions.

Artist of inner Turmoil.
Gottfried Helnwein's works from the 1980's are represented by the self-portraits in his "Black Mirror" series.
However, these works reach far beyond the boundaries of the ordinary self-portrait.
They reflect the inner wants and desperation which lies within the viewer's own self.
Helnwein points out the new form of the modern self-portrait which involves the creator and viewer alike.

Wenn wir von Helnwein sagen, er habe von aussen nach innen gemalt, dann heisst das,daß seine minutiöse und bohrend-insistierende Arbeitsweise, die die geschaute Wirklichkeit brutal interpretiert, eine hinter den Dingen im Verborgenen liegende Welt aufzudecken versucht.

Selektion - Neunter november Nacht
(Selection - Ninth of November Night)
A 100 meter wall of pictures between between Museum Ludwig and the Dome of Cologne, 1988
With the Installation "Ninth of November Night" Gottfried Helnwein wanted to remind us of the "Reichskristallnacht"( "Cristal Night"), November 9th to 10th, 1938.

"In the struggle against the Jew, I defend the acts of God!" Those were Hitler's words in Mein Kampf.
I admire the work of Gottfried Helnwein a great deal. This photographic testimony encourages reflection and provokes the examination of conscience, which is necessary for every one of us where racism is concerned. The laceration of the portraits is proof of the fact that we cannot be indifferent to the warning of the "final solution".
I consider myself lucky to be able to exhibit this gallery of memories in its present form in Lausanne.

It was to our good fortune that Gottfried Helnwein also strove to break away from the museum and gallery sector in order to communicate with a larger public. This appeared on a grand scale on the site between the cathedral and Museum Ludwig, and at a time of "photokina", with its hundreds of thousands of visitors. The 100 metre picture wall did not fail to hit its mark: it induced bewilderment as well as aggressiveness. After a few days numerous pictures had been slashed, one even stolen. Gottfried Helnwein saw the exhibition as a process which would continue and be reflected in later presentations. The pictures were not renewed, but patched up, so that this reminder of the persecution of Jewish people would bear the traces of a lack of insight and understanding in the present day.

Hinter dem Dom hatte kürzlich der Maler Gottfried Helnwein zur Erinnerung an die sogenannte Reichskristallnacht siebzehn bleich geschminkte Riesenportaits von Kinderköpfen aufgestellt.
Die von Maler beabsichtigte "rassische" Ähnlichkeit der Kinder mit jenen Bevölkerungsgruppen, die damals von den Nazis verfolgt wurden, besass eine vergleichbare Evidenz des Zufalls wie die Geistertöne aus Graz.
Unbekannte fühlten sich angesprochen.
Sie haben jetzt die Bilder mit Messern traktiert und den abgebildeten Kindern buchstäblich die Kehle duchgeschnitten. Erst durch die Zerstörung seines Werks nimmt Helnweins Aussage Gestalt an.
Bill Fontanas Mikrophone hätten in dieser Kölner Nacht das aufzeichnen können, was sie in Graz vergeblich suchten.